“Nnngh! Rathead fin’ is stuck tighter than a virgin’s twat! C’mon, budge, ya cheeky fuckstick!”

Moxxi’s body tightened as the little imp struggled to push the lever to a control panel upward. Outside, Bellatrix Primadonna leaned her shapely frame against the entrance, taking in the forsaken beauty of the amusement park. Overgrowth and foliage coated the towering rides and structures. Decrepit billboards and cutouts of mascots and attractions decorated the empty stands and stages.

While unusually appealing, the red-skinned succubus kept a skeptical look. She called out, “Remind me again why we’re wasting our time here? Shouldn’t we be making our way back to the ship?”

“Normally, I would agree,” replied Atalanta, who was fixing her snowy white hair into a long braid with the help of a dusty mirror. Embedded with a topaz skull clip, she flipped it once before letting it cascade down her shoulder. She then properly faced Bellatrix, a slight smile on her lips. “But this may be our only chance to live without worry! When was the last time we had any kind of fun?”

The devil woman raised an eyebrow. “Never thought I’d hear such foolhardiness come from your mouth. Resurrection certainly awakened a lot more dormant emotions.”

“I think it’s a welcome change,” commented Zell, who stepped out from a gift shop adorned by a vibrant blue dress shirt with golden accents on the collar and sleeve. He smiled at his love while presenting himself with raised arms. “What do you think~?”

Atalanta hummed, eyes hooded as she took in her partner’s attire, slightly missing the burgundy jacket that exposed his bare chest. Nonetheless, she complimented, “It suits you, helps bring out your hair.”

She quickly yanked the demi-human closer with her scythe, causing him to yelp. “But don’t let my impassion deceive you. I’m still the undisputed Goddess of Death that I always was. And I’ll flatline you if you dare cross me~.”

Despite this ‘threat,’ Zeloph quivered under the reaper’s forcefulness, his wings ruffling up feathers, and his face flourished. He sheepishly said, “A-as I said; a much welcome change!”

Bellatrix rolled her eyes and shook her head in spite of the curl in her lip. She would never admit it, but seeing the two lovers playfully interact with one another had opened a longing in her black, demonic heart. A hole left by the Baobhan Sith she hoped to one day seal. Her hand trailed down to her belly, which she gingerly rubbed.

“Wait… whatever happened to Viscera? I’m only now realizing you left her—”

“Under a building,” replied Zeloph, eyes narrowing to the ground. “We swooped by some time ago and couldn’t find a trace of her. She’s gone for now. I should have finished her off when I had the chance..!”

“If you did, Mortis would have finished us off,” reminded Bella.

“Don’t beat yourself over it,” agreed Atalanta, wickedly smiling. “Besides which, I have a personal bone to pick with that fetid harpy!”

Her head turned when Moxxi heaved, panting from how hard she tried to push the lever up. “Ugh! At this point, I’m better off just shovin’ this stick up me arse and fuck myself wif it! Maybe that’ll get it ter move!”

The imp turned around and was about to attempt this ‘method’ before losing her footing. The weight of her ample backside managed to finally shift the lever, and despite the years of neglect, the entire amusement park came to life. Worn lights and distorted music burst around the foursome, coasters, rides, and attractions in motion.

“… Well, I’ll be damned!”

“Way to put your back into it, Mox,” Bella tittered teasingly, scooping up her little friend and tickling her belly, making her giggle.

Atalanta and Zeloph looked at each other and joined in the laughter before they set out to try out all the amusement park had to offer. To mark the occasion, the newly formed demi-human graced their ears with a song, something that would have been unthinkable when the reaper was calling herself ‘Shadow Scythe.’

The alias she couldn’t drop so readily, as her previous life reminded her of who and what she was.

It wasn’t like that person was present now, given how passionately she sang while participating in the carnival games, coasters, and funhouses. While the couple stayed close by, locked in a private dance, Bellatrix loafed about on a bench while Moxxi hummed along to the music. Secretly, the she-devil had surrendered to the jubilation of this momentous occasion. Not only had several demi-humans united and stopped Mortis Soltaire, but another one had been born into existence.

At the end of her song, Atalanta took Zell’s hand to lead him out.

“Abaht nickle and dime the chuffin’ lovebirds got good and freaky~,” snickered Moxxi, her tail wagging excitedly.

Bella shook her head. “It’s more likely they have much to discuss.”

Indeed, the couple found themselves seated at the top of a Ferris wheel. A romantic view of the surroundings, framed by a sunset while they sat side-by-side. Atalanta’s fingers linked with his, her head resting atop his shoulder. “As much as I’ve enjoyed hanging out with your sister, it’s nice to have time alone. She’s still quite the handful!”

He chuckled, “Nothing about her has changed save her respect for you.” His smile then straightened as the subject came up. “Though a lot of other things have changed while you were gone.”

She eyed him curiously. “Such as?”

He chewed the bottom of his lip while glancing at the multidimensional saber, sheathed and lying next to them. “I discovered a horrible truth by unlocking the Crucible’s full might. About my origins. About the Divine Father who started all this.” He paused, staring intensely into her icy gray eyes. “What I’m about to tell you must not be shared with another unless within reason. Understand?”

The reaper’s frown deepened, but nonetheless nodded her head.

With an uneasy sigh, Zeloph began with a question. “… What do you know about the King in Yellow?”

The way her pupils gradually shrunk with the cold realization was all the answer he needed. “… you… this is a joke, right?”

Zell hung his head. “I wish it was… But according to the archangel Michael, he was behind the entire concept of ‘Heaven’ in this universe. Angels. Demons. Nephilims. Demis. Mankind’s ruination. Everything! He’s been alive all this time, waiting to retake the stage… and when he does, I have to face him.”

“Zell, that’s suicidal! Do you realize how insanely powerful a primordial being like Ha—”

Atalanta caught herself, remembering that her words held more power regarding the unspeakable horror her lover dared to talk about. She corrected, “Like… he-whose-name-must-never-be-said is?”

“I know better than anyone,” he assured. “But I took the Luster Pledge to serve by the Crucible and those who carried it in the past. I’m oathbound to slay evil and corruption until it’s time to pass the blade onto another.”

The reaper demi pouted slightly. “A lifetime’s devotion comes with a heavy toll, my love. While I sympathized with your decision, as it brought out your Exaltation, I only wish I could have been a part of it…”

Zell cupped her chin and insisted, “You were the first thing that ran through my mind when presented with the choice.”

Atalanta gave a small smile, which grew into a sly grin. “Ohh, really? Was I still on your mind when you immediately set your sights on Bellatrix~?” The death angel teased with a poke to his chest.

His cheeks colored as he stammered, “E-Ehh! Of course! I mean—”

She pressured her future husband further, straddling his hips and winding her tail around his. “I had only been dead for a few hours. And after riling yourself up, you sought that she-devil out like a dog, finding the right spot to bury his bone.”

“I-It was a mutual agreement,” he tried to explain, sweating bullets. “We both needed power to overcome our enemies. And… well, the only way to achieve that was by—”

“Fucking her brains out and drowning her uterus in cum. I’m aware that a succubus needs her supplements, especially with an awakened Onoma. But that doesn’t excuse you from putting a baby in her womb, darling…”

“Th-that was… I-I wasn’t—she was the one who removed the—”

Atalanta silenced his feeble excuses with a hot kiss, pressing her lissome body closer to his. She pulled away and tittered through heated pants. “I jest, love. You had my consent, remember? If anything, I’m relieved it was Bellatrix. Because, unlike her bimbo-brained sister, she takes matters far more seriously.”

She slid her palm up his blue shirt, feeling how quickly his heart heated beneath his breast. His eyes were lost in hers, frightened and aroused by what she planned to do with him.

Atalanta cooed, her voice low and husky. “That being said, I’m alive again. And my body…” She let her other hand run over her bare stomach before it found her tiny, supple tits underneath her jagged top, squeezing one lightly. “… has been renewed with many unfiltered needs. So you’re going to take responsibility and give me everything she got… and triple it~.”

Zeloph shuddered underneath his beloved, his pants uncomfortably tight from how stiff his troublemaking shaft was. “B-But-but Atalanta! We hardly have time for—”

She roughly grounded her hips with enough force to rattle the Ferris wheel carriage they sat in. “The others are going to have to wait,” the reaper demi told him with a playful snarl, mimicking the ferocity of her shadow hounds. “Because I cannot. I’ve been without your warmth love for too long, and it’s driving me nuts! So get out of these clothes and fuck a child into me, or be my good little toy and stand still. Either way, I’m taking what belongs to me~!”

And how was he to deny his deathly beauty her most feverous request?

Zeloph captured her lips again, giving in to her near-animalistic need to fulfill this unquenched desire. His hands roamed her back while hers clawed and dragged into his skin, gyrating their pelvises in perfect harmony.

But before either could tear away the attire, prolonging their intimate frenzy, the foreboding caws of ravens shattered the moment, drawing Atalanta’s attention as she glared at the black flock of bird-shaped creatures.

“Damn it, not now!” she muttered as the skeletal corvids fluttered around the Ferris wheel. Zeloph observed with equal frustration as the world desaturated and time grinds to a halt.

A flurry of feathers continued to whirl while each of the deathly crows reshaped themselves into the departed members of the fallen reaper order, shrouded in different colors to denote their unique roles as symbols of death. At their head arrived the largest and most intimidating of the group, robed in a gray cloak and floating towards the couple.

Atalanta quickly removed herself with begrudgement, and Zeloph followed to meet with the mysterious specter, his brows furrowed when he demanded, “What the hell do you want?”

“You need not look at me with such disdain, Aether King,” came the reaper’s booming voice. “For I am not your enemy.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” the fiery angel scoffed. “Who are you?”

“Greyscale Carnifex. Founder of the Reaper Order,” he introduced himself, a scaly clawed hand cast back to remove the hood concealing his hardened draconic visage. Much like Atalanta, he too had been transformed by Sacratera’s bizarre properties, sharing hybrid traits of both demi-human and dragon, whose feathered wings matched his namesake.

His slit pupils turned to the female reaper. “It was I who preserved your soul within raven form.”

Atalanta nodded. “So you’re partly to thank for my resurrection. That, and the rest of the departed order.” She looked on with a fallen face at the other death-dealers she’d dispatched. While a fellow member of her order had indoctrinated her into the fold once her cutie mark materialized, she had never met Greyscale Carnifex. Nor had she heard his name, his identity unknown to all until now.

The dragon-faced reaper nodded. “We are. Your time in the living world is not yet over, Shadow Scythe. You are needed to”

“Her name is Atalanta,” Zell corrected with a sharp tongue, cerulean eyes glowing a fierce vermillion. “And if you’re the founder, that makes you responsible for the reaper cutie marks, doesn’t it?”

Greyscale narrowed his gaze back at the demi-human but humbly admitted, “That is correct.”

“Ah, so you’re the one who thought suppressing the emotions of his order was a good idea. Indoctrinate them into your fold, then turn them into killers?” He dryly spat. “Well, way to go, genius. You lead Atalanta and Danse Macabre down the paths that would turn them into Shadow Scythe and Mortis Solitaire! It’s your fault all this terrible drama started!”

Atalanta gently placed a hand on his shoulder before he could reach for his blade. “Zeloph. It’s okay,” She softly urged, kissing his cheek to cool him down. “Whatever the circumstances, I made my choice. As did Mortis, even though I was the one who set him down his path.”

Zell shook his head, pointing his finger. “No, it’s not okay! He—”

Greyscale bowed his head. “I accept partial blame for both of your fates. As well as the current state of the multiverse. But I would never weigh the outcome of a heavy burden to carry without an equal purpose.”

“I am thankful regardless for the chance to be with the one I love,” she acknowledged, bowing her head as well. “But I am curious. Reapers aren’t supposed to interfere with the natural order. So why did you and the others intervene with Mortis’ plans? Especially at the aid of the one who murdered you..?”

“Because the outcome of this course of action was anything but natural,” answered Greyscale. “To defy the balance of life and death brings consequences that have proven...catastrophic, in the past. But the anomalous interference has altered that vow. Sacred laws were broken, so we lent our aid from behind the scenes where possible. Unfortunately, I don’t know the price to reinforce equilibrium. I, too, may soon face judgment day…”

“Couldn’t come at a better time, if you ask me,” muttered Zell.

Greyscale returned a clipped smile. “You have every right to be infuriated with me, ex-fallen one. I established the order in ancient times, lost to history. Carefully chose members to represent us so our order could spread across the universe. Made certain souls weren’t abandoned to wander aimlessly, as we lead the dead to the afterlife. Even we aren’t entirely sure why Danse Macabre reawakened as Mortis Saltaire. Only that he was lost in the Necronomicon for a time and struck a deal with the Eldritch race that once ravaged the world of Alsahra’almakia.”

“Cerise’s world,” noted Atalanta.

“However, I suspect more answers may lead you back to the remnants of our old world, where Mortis’ disturbed tomb still resides.”

“Then that’s our next destination,” decided Zell.

The draconic demi-human nodded. “Unfortunately, others have sought to exploit the reaper order for their own ends. An old enemy of your friend Beatrix Belladonna, the vampire noble known as Dhullex Faustus, was a mere alchemist before he attempted to rob us of our secrets to immortality. He achieved the enhanced life and power he sought...but at the price of an eternal thirst for blood, lest he rot into a mummified state. He sired a race of false vampires, including his captive brides Esmeralda Van Helsing and Camellia Karnstein, his curse twisting the former concerned aristocrats into amoral, narcissistic monsters.”

“Former?” Zell huffed. “From what little I saw of them, I’m not sure they were ever particularly nice people.”

“Perhaps not,” added Atalanta. “But I’m sure Bellatrix will want to spare them as well...or just end them herself.”

“Penance may come sooner than anticipated, thanks to the anomaly and the mistress they serve,” Greyscale continued.

Both turned with confusion. “Mistress?”

“You’ll find that out soon enough.”

Zell rolled his eyes. “Oh great. More secrets.”

He ignored him and focused on Atalanta. “What you must know is why I’ve been forced to make my presence known to save you. Remember when I said we have members in every universe? That extends to this one as well. And one of the first members I ever recruited is closer than you think.”

Before she could ask for further clarification, the other reapers began to whirl around once more, dissolving into their corvid forms. Greyscale soon joined his flock and disappeared in the storm of feathers, but not before his disembodied voice left one final crude message.

“As for the reaper’s cutie marks’? Ancient runes I altered to replace what symbol would usually have been there. I chose my followers carefully, Atalanta. When the time comes, I trust you will do the same…”

As time resumed its flow and the world returned to color, Atalanta was left to wonder where she would have been without his interference. What cutie mark would’ve adorned her? Would her parents still be alive now...?

She took her lover’s hand and sailed from the Ferris wheel to land by Bella and Moxxi.

The imp puckered her lips. “Aww? Is it time ter leave already? Didn’t get the bloody chance ter go skinnydippin’ in the water park~!!”

Bellatrix noticed the conflicted expressions on their faces and asked, “Did something happen? It seemed like you were only up there a few minutes...”

“Of course,” said Atalanta, the imp and succubus unaware time had stopped during their intervention with the reaper order. “I’ll explain briefly. But right now, we need to visit Danse Macabre’s tomb.”

On the way out, Bellatrix shut down the rides and lights until stillness once again beset the area. Then, she hurried to follow the rest of the quartet on their way off Sacratera through the crossed-shaped tear in reality. Zell looked mournfully at his home planet before exiting the realm, the rift closing behind him.

Unbeknownst to them, one light was still flickering on a billboard advertising a devil-themed attraction. And a lone figure stood underneath. Long, messy red hair cascaded out the tarnished brown cowl adorning the woman’s person. She watched from a distance as her son left through the carved portal, a warm smile gracing her lips.

“No… the time of our reunion isn’t right just yet. But soon, Zeloph.”

She turned away and left the premises as the struggling light finally gave out.

Upon coming out of the other side, Atalanta was crestfallen by the state of her former home. While Mortiferum Equestria may have been annihilated by the calamity, pieces of the land masses still drifted aimlessly in the starless void. Fortunately, the angel’s saber formed a barrier around the foursome, which allowed them to survive the cold vacuum of space temporarily.

Bellatrix shuddered and said, “I’m surprised anything survived Mortis’ assault. To think a reaper could reach the point where he could consume the souls of an entire world.”

“It explains why Greyscale and the rest of the order had a hand to play in this,” lamented Atalanta. “A shame they couldn’t save more. Pretty much everyone I ever met here...all dead.”

“Unless you count travelers to this world like Beatrix,” replied Zeloph, who balled up a fist. “The anomaly will answer for this. We cannot allow more devastation to follow.”

“Gotta learn more abaht what’s behind this first,” reminded Moxxi. She was the first to descend into the upturned earth, towards the maze of tunnels that led to Tartarus. From their brief venture into Shadow Scythe’s soul, they were made aware the reaper order headquarters were hidden nearby.

“I’ll take the lead from here,” offered Atalanta. “This place is a labyrinth designed to make sure no one accidentally stumbled on our sanctuary. We also kept demons at bay from here.”

“I imagine a few strays must have wandered from the depths on occasion,” noted Bellatrix. “Since you were practically on their doorstep. Perhaps Greyscale intentionally chose its placement for that reason?”

The Aether King scowled. “Of course, that bastard would want to salvage his work.”

“There’s an almost infinite network of knowledge contained in the libraries here,” observed Atalanta, who floated ahead. “Whatever his reasons, I really can’t blame him. Anyhow, reapers aren’t supposed to perish under natural circumstances, but tombs are prepared for us here to preserve our secrets.”

“Ya’ll 're sum morbid fuckers, I’ll give ya that,” muttered Moxxi.

“If anything, they behave eerily like a cult,” Zell noted. “The warning signs were all there. Taken from your families, hidden from society, sworn to secrecy as your emotions are suppressed… Greyscale is no different than whoever’s leading the Cult of the Nemesis!”

“It seems he’s convinced himself the reapers were a necessary evil,” surmised Atalanta, tucking her face further into her hood. “Who knows? Without those cutie mark ‘runes,’ countless souls might have been left to wander the ethereal plain forever! I think it’s a small price to pay. I only wish it hadn’t amounted to so much carnage in the end...”

Down the winding tunnels, they eventually arrived at a structure buried in the rocks.

“Ahh. Home sweet home… such as it is,” the reaper demi sighed, cherishing the fleeting nostalgia before casting the double doors open. Abandoned after she butchered the reaper order, the hollow establishment appeared intact at first look, down to the extensive library. Of course, she’d already read every book here during her obsessive quest for knowledge and power.

Layers of shelves were lined with dusty books, almost exactly like they remembered it from their journey into Atalanta’s soul. However, the dust had gotten thicker, and cobwebs now adorned the corners. She took a moment to linger and reminisce, then moved on.

“Here. Most of this building was forbidden to us, aside from special occasions,” the cloaked demi-human elaborated. “In jealousy, our order guards its secrets. Likely out of fear for what we were capable of becoming, as demonstrated by both Mortis and I. Hmm… and speaking of my fellow, departed reaper...”

With a sweep of her arm, Atalanta welcomed them to a stony staircase that spiraled further down the dark and dank depths into the once-sealed tombs.

Zeloph tensed up, his hair and feathers on end. “… you sense it, too, right?”

“Yes. Someone’s been here before us!” Atalanta narrowed her eyes; her double-ended scythe summoned into hand. “Stay sharp. Could be down to Greyscale and the order, but...”

“We’ll always have your back,” her lover reminded, who touched her shoulder.

“Yeah!” Moxxi bounded up next to her. “Any creepies crawlin’ abaht daahhhn ‘ere gonna get the ol’ one-two!”

“Plus, it would be a nice opportunity to test my Onoma more,” mused Bellatrix.

Atalanta offered them all a clipped smile. “Let’s hope it won’t come to that?”

Elaborate tombs were placed for each member of the reaper order, styled to suit them, and radiated their unique color. Just like the private domains of each reaper, their rooms were adorned by their vibrant signature coloration.

“They’re beautiful,” observed Bella, who ran a palm across a smooth stone surface. “Immaculately hand-crafted, apparently. I wonder, did Greyscale do this with his own hands?”

“More self-fulfilling vanity,” muttered Zell, unable to restrain his contempt for Grey.

In truth, Atalanta harbored conflicting emotions towards her old order. The senior members had taken her in and helped her learn but were more like acquaintances than friends or family. The closest to an exception was Danse Macabre, who’d mostly approached her to aid in his secretive research.

But even then, she’d sensed he was lonely. While he hadn’t intended to court her, the offer of a romantic union between them when Quiver Bolt invited him to dinner quietly excited him. Sowing seeds of hope that a hole in his heart would finally be filled after the loss of his own parents.

“He wasn’t a bad stallion, once. I owe him this much,” she whispered to herself.

Moxxi scoffed. “Ya seriously ‘oldin’ a funeral for the bloody bastard that axed ya off?”

“I prefer to think of Danse Macabre and Mortis Saltaire as two different people. Just like Shadow Scythe represented my old life. You’ve all helped me become what I am now. Especially you.” Atalanta turned to Zell with a warm smile before looking back to the obsidian tomb.

The moment her hand caressed the cold stone, a wave of anhedonia assaulted her mind. Her eyes widened, and she cried out, flooded with memories.

Everyone raced to her side, Zell crouching down and yelling, “Atalanta! What’s wrong!?”

“Wahn last Two-Thirty trick from Mortis?” the neon demoness speculated.

“N-no,” murmured Atalanta, who heaved and leaned on the structure for support. “These are… Demi-Trix’s memories..!”

She gasped as her mind’s eye replayed events from the tulpa’s point of view. First, she had been wandering the shores of Parras, talking with what looked to be Ashen Dune and Rhenaes before skipping on her merry way. Suddenly, she tripped, glitching through the beach and finding herself in some amalgamated dimension stitched together by chaos and darkness.

But it was the last of her memories that sent a cold chill up the reaper’s spine. She stumbled onto a cannibalistic dinner party, surrounded by hooded members of the Nemesis, hosted by a slender figure with antlers branching out its head…who quickly discovered her position and squeezed her throat with crushing force, his voice and laughter heavily distorted.

That’s when the vision distorted, and a different memory played. The same cervine shadow loomed over Danse’s grave, whispering something incoherent to the Necronomicon before placing the tome atop the headstone. And when he vanished, the magenta vapors of the Eldritch seeped underneath the resting place until the stone covering shifted, and Mortis’ bony paw shot out, grasping for her. The last thing Atalanta recalled was the lich’s anguished cry as he drew first undead breath…

His scream turned into her own as the death angel regained awareness of where she was. Panting heavily, she flung onto Zell tightly, feeling his warm and gentle touch soothe her. Once able to recompose herself, she stared aghast at her allies and said, “I… I know who did this. Through Demi-Trix’s premonition, I saw the trespasser who erased her mind. W-Who disturbed Danse’s slumber!”

“Well, daan’t keep us in suspense!” Moxxi exclaimed. “Who’s the bugger that needs a good peggin’?”

“Yes! Who!?” Demanded Bellatrix.

Zeloph more gingerly asked, “Who is it..?”

“…the Nightmare Stag,” revealed Atalanta, her voice weary and bitter. “Omen. He’s the one orchestrating all these wars, helping these villains crawl out of the woodwork. Through his actions, he’s put the entire multiverse in peril. He’s the one that brought back the Cult of the Nemesis and helped the Eldritch resurrect Mortis!”

While Zeloph and Moxxi were both rightfully alarmed by the discovery, Bellatrix’s expression faltered the most. Last she saw the gray cervine; he had been taken by Alma’s underlings back when they were her slaves. While she never found out how he escaped, his calm demeanor and assertive smile during the circumstance gave the she-devil the slightest sense that he was never in danger…

“I... I always figured he harbored some questionable secrets,” replied Bella, head lowered. “Yet not once did I consider this. I believed he was simply like me before I reformed. An amoral entity, following his dark nature...”

“Oh, he’s followed it, alright,” said Moxxi. “If this is true and ‘e’s the chuffin’ anomaly, then Oona and Beatrix’re in deeper shite than we thought!”

Zell nodded grimly. “Assuming they haven’t already deduced Omen is the mastermind pulling strings behind the curtain…”

The red-skinned succubus added, “My sister wanted to believe in him because she saw herself as a creature of darkness due to her ties to the Necronomicon. She wants so desperately to believe darkness doesn’t always equal evil.”

The seraph nodded. “I thought of myself as the righteous patron of light and purity. And… Well, I’m certain Cerise won’t be inviting me to her world for the foreseeable future. She’s never been able to forgive me, and I don’t blame her. I was no better than Metatron.”

“The lines have certainly been blurred,” agreed Bella. “Perhaps in ancient times, mankind perceived the battle of Good and Evil in more black-and-white terms. But make no mistake, monsters do exist. Beatrix has a knack for turning many of our enemies on a different path, you two especially! But Omen? He’s unadulterated evil..!”

“All the more reason we need to stop him,” Atalanta concurred. “He pulled the wool over everyone. Caused Demi-Trix to sacrifice herself. I considered a funeral for her, too, but no...once we do that, we’ll really consider her dead. She’s a tulpa, so we have to keep her memory alive until she can return!”

She doubted it would be anytime soon, but she hoped that one day, even if it took decades...

“We’d better head back to Midnight’s world to warn Beatrix and company,” noted Zell.

“Not before I’ve said my farewells,” answered Atalanta, her face adorned with mournful melancholy. A funeral air filled the tomb when she started to light torches in a phantasmagorical blaze, ghost lights of ignis fatuus left to drift like an illuminated miasma around them. She passed each lit torch to her companions and started to chant an ancient prayer for all her reaper companions.

Her heart skipped when a couple of mourners stepped from the ethereal mist.

Zell almost dropped his torch as a familiar old stallion in a duster and hat approached. “Quicksilver..?”

Atalanta choked out a muted sob that wracked her thin breast and cried, “M-mom!”

“But how? Is it an illusion, or-”

“Nah, son,” said Quicksilver with a wry smirk. “Your eyes ain’t playing tricks. We’re here…. Though we can’t stick around.”

“A boon from Greyscale for your services,” called Quiver Bolt, who ran forward and threw her arms around her daughter; her embrace soon returned as the pair of them openly wept, Atalanta unable to hold back anymore. “He bent the rules for us! We may have an hour at best, so… best we use it!”

“Well said. Now get in here, son,” the old stallion finished as he pulled Zell into the fold, helping him embrace his family, reunited for an all-too-brief time. “Oh, shoot! Almost forgot. There’s someone else that wants to see you…”

Zell furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you...”

His skeptical expression melted when the light plucking of strings graced his feathery ears. He turned his head towards the source… only for his cerulean eyes to widen when they met a pair of brown orbs he hadn’t seen in ages.

A stout, sun-kissed human man, basked in a golden glow, stepped forward. A worn acoustic guitar strapped around his shoulder, his fingers tapping and strumming the instrument. He wore a broad smile and waved his hand, “Hello, Zell.”

“… Jonn..?!”

Released from the circle the family formed, Zeloph was reduced to a blubbering mess, able to see the man he thought of as his real father once again.

The guitarist chuckled, placing his guitar to the side, and wrapped his friend into his large arms, patting his back when he felt the demi clutch his hand into his shirt. “You’ve grown a lot from the gloomy kid that felt everything didn’t matter. You’re a real fireflower now!”

“I’m sorry…. I’m so sorry,” Zell repeatedly said through sobs, face buried into his chest. “I wasn’t able to save you, Jonn!”

“But you did,” he insisted. “You’ve kept my words and spirit safe in your heart, no matter how misguided you might have been. And they prospered through you like a blooming bud after enough sunshine and rain. If not for that, I don’t think I’d all be here, waiting for you…”

Zell couldn’t help but chuckle sorrowfully. “You and your posy language..! Gods, I’ve missed it!”

“And I’ve missed you,” assured Jonn, squeezing him tighter. “Your eulogy was beautiful, by the way.”

“Thank you.”

Jonn briefly pulled back, sighing, “C’mon. Let go of the doubt messing with your head, man! Look around you. Look at everybody you saved today! You’re a hero, Zell. Our hero.”

Zell glanced at the faces of his friends, family, and loved ones. Atalanta smiled graciously, her arms wrapped around her parents. Bellatrix and Moxxi hugged each other, the tenderness of the moment washing through the former while the latter kept quiet, aware of how important this was to her brother.

Looking back at his friend, his eyes watery with tears. “You don’t know how badly I want to! But if not for me, you wouldn’t have been lost..!”

Jonn’s smile deepened when he whispered, “But I’m not lost, kiddo. You found me.”

Those four words pushed Zell over the edge as he once more buried his tears and sorrows into the fiery specter, who held him tighter than ever. After a moment of embracing and expunging years of bottled-up sadness, they pulled back as the musician said, “Hey. I think we’ve got time for a little send-off. What do you say we jam like it was the good old days, yeah?”

Zeloph smiled sadly and sniffled, “To lift your spirits?”

“To lift yours.”

Torches were placed in sconces while everyone else settled into a circle around the musicians, seats taken either on the cool stone floor or on the slabs. Jonn took the lead, playing an acoustic rendition of a classic hit from a begotten era. When the first chorus hit, Zell lent his voice and began playing and singing in unison. Quicksilver, Quiver, Atalanta, Bella, and Moxxi swayed along to the melody as the other wayward souls gathered, glimmering around the premise like fireflies.

A mechanism in the tomb activated, which creaked and rotated until the entire structure started to rise and the ceiling creaked open. Eventually, it lifted out into the open until they were out in the open amidst the black and starless void.

Gradually, the spirits lifted as the music swelled. Glowing spheres of light were drawn by the dozens; then hundreds, thousands, millions, the scattered wayward souls upheaved at a chance to be sent off to the afterlife and finally rest in peace.

They formed a brilliant ocean of stars in the void until the emptiness resembled a vast starry sky.

And when Jonn plucked the last chord, his golden hue enveloped him as he followed the ascending baleful orbs. Zell watched tearfully as his beloved friend departed from the physical plain. And, with a sad smile tracing his lips, whispered, “Goodbye, Jonn...”

“Quite a spectacle you put on,” Quicksilver said, giving his future son-in-law a hefty pat. “But it’s best we get going too. I know you’ll take care of our daughter.”

“You’re like the son we never had,” Quiver said with a warm grin. “We only regret not being around to see your love blossom.”

Atalanta joined her lover’s side, hand intertwined with his as she nodded. The wispy spirits stepped forth and hugged the demi couple for the final time.

“You’ve made us so proud, Atalanta,” Quicksilver whispered softly. “Always keep that in your heart. We’ll be watching over ya!”

“We’ll always be with you,” concurred Quiver, holding down sniffles. “And never forget. We love you, sweet girl!”

Atalanta swallowed down her own sobs like heavy whiskey and nodded. “I love you too! Goodbye father… mother…!”

She helped send her parents off, ascending their souls until they became intangible from her touch and vanished in the sea of souls, each one vanishing from the physical plane until nothing was left.

When her now emptied hands fell at her slender sides, she drew warmth from Zeloph’s hand, which clasped her own. As the last active reaper of her duty, it was her sworn duty to upheave every soul lost in the afterlife. But whoever this mysterious other reaper was in the midst, she’d have to seek them out once the threat of Omen and the multiverse’s destruction was put to rest.

“Farewell, everyone. Mother...father...my order...Danse Macabre. May you reach the great beyond on swift wings.” She wiped her eyes and turned back to her companions, speaking after taking a breath. “Okay… We make haste for Midnight’s planet.”

Zell nodded and unsheathed the Crucible. “What about the tomb? Are we leaving it here?”

No,” replied Atalanta. “I can’t risk any more secrets contained here falling into more malicious hands.”

Moxxi hopped in place. “So we’re nukin’ the Drum?”

“Pretty much,” said Atalanta with an ambivalent smirk. “Would you care to do the honors?”

The imp’s lips curled with glee. “Loike ya ‘ave ter ask. I’m a bonafide ‘omewrecker~!”

Despite her worn-out state after the battle with Mortis and Andrei, Moxxi managed to conjure enough demonic essence to start trashing the place. Zeloph summoned what little solar fire he was able to, smirking slightly as he took personal pleasure in burning down everything Grayscale had built up. Finally, Bella brought hellfire and brimstone to add to the imminent devastation, while Atalanta launched the first volley of magically-induced destruction, layered by the rest of her comrades until they’d summoned up a mystic nuke which hummed and floated, ready to explode.

“Huh… Y’kna, this could ‘ave easily taken aahhht Mortis and ‘is zombies,” Moxxi pointed out.

“It would have also leveled the Glamorguis,” reminded Bella. “Plus, I’m not sure we could form and maintain it on Scaratera. There’s an excess of mystic energies infused in these ancient walls...” Golden eyes reflected the flicker and hum of the sphere. “It’s ready to melt down any second!”

“Better scoot our bums outta ‘ere then,” hollered Moxxi. “Before we turn ourselves into peas in a pot apple pie rockets!”

“Hurry!” called Zell, who carved open a portal and pushed his sister in first. Next came Bella, who entered the rift. Finally, he and Atalanta held hands, the former looking back. While she wanted to stay behind and witness the end of her old world, she knew there wasn’t time and allowed her beloved to pull her in, departing from the ruins of the reaper order right as the explosion went off.

On the other side, the foursome leaped out into the outskirts of a jungle area, the trees and humidity far too foreign to belong in this part of Equestria. One look around showed similar locations and landscapes blending through reality to continue existing, some of which beckoned with distortion and static.

“Zeesh! Talk abaht ‘avin’ Pearly Queen better days,” muttered Moxxi.

“Not unlike what happened when Mortis obliterated my world,” noted Atalanta, frowning deeply at the gruesome image of the scene while her soul and body bled out.

“Look, over there!” Zell directed, pointing at the minotaur ville dubbed Hammerfall surrounded by war tents and torch fire. Not too far from it was saucer-shaped Glamorguis, using the forestry as cover while it recovered from the damage suffered on Sacratera.

Bella sighed with relief. “Perfect. We can regroup with the others and inform them of what we learned.”

“We should also check in with the villagers and chief Moon Hammer,” suggested the Aether King, eyes lowering onto the many soldiers surrounding the land. “Something tells me this variant of the Crystal Empire isn’t friendly..”

“You go on ahead,” said the succubus with shallow breath, sweat running down her brows while tugging at the skintight space suit. “I need to take this stupid thing off and take a long bath. Plus, I’m sure Layla will want to know of our success.”

Atalanta nodded. “We’ll catch up later.”

Bellatrix gave the trio a genuine smile before spreading her leather wings and soaring silently toward the distant forest, cloaking the UFO.

The imp huffed. “Finally, I can slip into summit more comfortable!” Extending her claws, she tore off the rest of her suit until she was completely naked, stretching her limb and shaking her assets free. “Aaaaaaaah~! Much better!”

The reaper demi rolled her eyes.

“Whaaat! Ain’t nuffin’ more comfy than yer birthday suit~!” Moxxi snickered, tiny bay wings fluttering above her curvaceous waist. “Race you there!”

Zell and Atalanta watched the neon demoness vanish into the night, giving them a brief moment of alone time. The fiery demi-human stared at his colder counterpart. “It’s strange…”

She returned his gaze with a curious glint. “What is?”

“One moment, I held your body to my chest, wholly convinced I would never get to marry you. The next… we’re standing side by side again as if nothing changed. Well, besides the obvious, I mean.”

Atalanta snorted, arms folded into her chest. “If this is the way you’re proposing to me, you’re off to a very shaky start, my love.”

His cheeks colored. “No, I’m not—well, sorta. I know this isn’t exactly glamorous, I… don’t have a ring with me—“

While Zeloph rambled cutely, the snow-haired beauty tittered in amusement before drawing her lover close and shutting him up with a kiss. Her hands caressed his cheek, detaching from his mouth to say in a silky tone, “You’ll have your chance back on the ship~.”

A warm smile stretched his lips as the duo took flight and soared towards the homely minotaur ville of Hammerfall.

Omen’s patient scheming and treachery left a bleak outcome on the crumbling multiverse. Yet the two former villains had been reborn into heroes and conquered death itself. Thus, the fires of hope burned brightly in their hearts, determined to end the calamity.

With the threads of sanity unraveling, hatred, and fear grew rampantly everywhere. But as proven by Zeloph and Atalanta, life would find a way.

And eternal love shall prevail.

Author's Note

And thus, we conclude this part of the story. I'd like to thank everyone who stuck to the end. Be sure to check out Prisoners of War for further continuation, as characters from this story will appear there as well!

Also, there will be one more bonus chapter to 'celebrate' Zeloph and Atalanta's victory. So expect that to happen soon~